After a brief hint yesterday, Microsoft announced the new 2021 edition of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 today. It will launch in USA, Canada, and Japan two days from now, on April 15 from Microsoft and Best Buy, with other markets to follow. https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/7896574A
Also, those who pre-order the Surface Laptop 4 will get free Surface Earbuds thrown into the bundle.
The starting price is $999, with 6 different configurations for the 13.5-inch model, and 5 configurations for the 15-inch model.
The entry level Surface Laptop 4 is the 13.5-inch laptop with an AMD Ryzen 5 4680U processor, 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, and 256GB storage. It can then be upgraded with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 or i7-1185G7 processor, 16GB or 32GB of RAM, and 512GB or 1TB of storage. It has a touchscreen with a display resolution of 2256 x 1504.
As for the larger 15-inch Surface Laptop 4, it starts at $1299 with an AMD Ryzen 7 4980U processor, 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, and 256GB storage. It can then be upgraded to twice the RAM and storage, or with an Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor, and options of 16GB or 32GB RAM, and 512GB or 1TB storage and Iris Xe Graphics. The touchscreen has a display resolution of 2496 x 1664.
Color options are black or platinum for the 15-inch laptop, with the additional choices of ice blue and sandstone for the 13.5-inch laptop. Another design choice is between an alcantara keyboard or just ordinary metal.
Highlights are a long battery life of 16.5 to 19 hours depending on the model, a 3:2 aspect ratio, dual far-field Studio Mics, Omnisonic Speakers with Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi 6, a precision touchpad, and a backlit keyboard.
Other things that potential Surface Laptop 4 buyers would end up with are a 720p front camera and facial recognition for Windows Hello, Bluetooth 5.0, 1x USB C port, 1x USB A port, and a Surface Connect port and 3.5mm audio combo jack.
The specific operating system it ships with is the Windows 10 Home edition, though you can always upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for about $100 these days.
Its best features are the PixelSense display, some quality components, good battery life, and good design for many uses, though the latter is always subjective depending on your needs. Other than that, there is no getting around the fact that these Surface laptops are pricey.
If we compare the Surface Laptop 4 featuring the Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, it costs 80% to 100% more than similarly powered models from HP, Acer, and Asus.
So that’s something to think about.
– Tom Bowen
